• Crain's Chicago Business/AP, Friday, June 8, 2007 11:30 AM

A deal cut last month between Merisant Co., the company that makes Equal, and McNeil Nutritionals, which markets Splenda, is unraveling. The dispute centers on Splenda's former advertising slogan--"Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar"-- which Merisant says confuses people into thinking the product is natural.

After Splenda lawyers allegedly asked for more time to comply with the terms of a settlement reached on May 11, Equal asked the trial judge yesterday to either enforce the agreement or enter a verdict the jury reportedly reached. Splenda, in turn, says that Merisant breached the deal's confidentiality clause by publicizing the settlement in ads. Merisant responds that simply mentioning the widely publicized deal does not violate the agreement.

Merisant had sought more than $200 million in damages during the five-week federal trial. Jurors later said they had decided to award Merisant "substantial" damages, but their verdict was never entered.

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